Mount Ling and Lingshan Temple

Mount Ling lies in the Dabieshan Mountain area, bordering on Henan and Hubei Province. It was called Bashan Mountain in the old times. Later it is called Mount Ling. There are two origins about this name .First, Mount Ling resembles Lingjiushan Mountain in India where Saky Amuni became Buddha. Second, there is a saying that if you make a wish in Mount Ling, your wish will be realized; if clouds apper there, there will be rain; wherever you try this, it will be proven true, The saying is exactly what Ling in Chinese means.
 
Mount Ling is a famous Buddhist scenic spot with a long history of Buddhism and rich culture. It used to have seven temples and three nunneries. Among them, Lingshan Temple is one of the four most ancient temples in the Central Plains of China, built in AD474 during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen in the North Wei Period in the Chinese history. For hundreds of years, Lingshan Temple has developed a school of its own, Its door opens toward the east; the monks and the nuns live under the sane roof and wear their hair to submit to the Buddhist discipline. These are acclaimed as the three wonders of Mount Ling. The first emperors of both Song and Qing Dynasty had come to visit Mount Ling. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor or Ming Dynasty came to visit Mount Ling three times, He named Mount Ling as Royal Mountain, Lingshan Temple as State Temple and conferred Abbot Cheng Dayong the title of Chan Master. He also granted a horizontal board inscribed with four Chinese characters, Sheng Shen Chan Shi, which means a sacred Buddhist temple. In the 51st year during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, Abbot Gaoying of Lingshan Temple went to India to do research on Buddhism and became the master of great learning and integrity in the Indian Buddhism circles. In 1962, Indian Prime Minister came to visit Lingshan Temple by its reputation. When Shi Wufan, an eminent monk of Lingshan Temple passed away and his remains were cremated, over 700 pieces of Buddhist relics.
 
With its charming hills, jagged rocks, flying springs and waterfalls, secluded cavities and steep cliffs, Mount Ling had won praises from emperors, ministers and famous poets in the old times. Mount Ling also is a red place, where the revolutionists of the older generations had fought battles here.

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Mount Ling and Lingshan Temple